On a cold crisp afternoon in October 2014, I headed to the iconic Lighthouse in Glasgow to conduct the wedding ceremony for the lovely Kirsty and Kevin.
The ceremony was to be held in the viewing platform at the very top of the building, aptly named, as the panoramic view of the city centre is stunning!
The viewing platform has a bright but intimate feel, which was perfect for Kirsty and Kevin and their small wedding party of 12 close family and friends. After the ceremony, they headed to the Orangebox gallery downstairs for a sumptuous dinner, before welcoming their evening guests.
Kevin and Kirsty chose to have a humanist ceremony, it was very relaxed and highly personal to both the bride and groom. There were plenty of smiles, laughs and a few tears of joy.
Since I began conducting ceremonies in 2011, I’ve had the privilege of conducting many ceremonies in some of Scotland’s most amazing wedding venues, and it’s one of my favourite aspects of the job. If you live in Glasgow and have never visited the Lighthouse, I highly recommend you pay it a visit-even if you’re not getting married there’s always something on.
Being Scotland’s centre for design and architecture and a beacon for creativity, the events and exhibitions are some of the best in the country.
And of course the building is steeped in History. When he was still only a young Draftsmen, Charles Rennie Mackintosh designed the Mitchell Street Building, which at the time, was home to the offices of the Glasgow Herald.
The building, designed in 1895, was a warehouse at the back of the printing office of the Glasgow Herald. Mackintosh designed the tower to contain an 8,000-gallon water tank. It was to protect the building and all its contents from the risk of fire.
The former Glasgow Herald building was renovated and launched as The Lighthouse, Scotland’s Centre for Architecture, Design and the City, a project suggested by the 1999 UK City of Architecture and Design bid committee. It took its new role after 15 years of silence, having stood unused since the Herald moved to new offices in the early eighties.
If you are looking for an intimate location for a ceremony, it’s just perfect. You can keep the ceremony guests to a minimum, knowing that you can then invite plenty of evening guests.
Victoria, thank you so much for our perfect wedding ceremony. We had such an amazing day, Love Kevin & Kirsty xxx
Photography: Caro Weiss